


Fated

by emquin



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, One-Shot, Soulmate AU, buddie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21973711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emquin/pseuds/emquin
Summary: Soulmate AU. Fate and Soulmates had been a thing for as long as people had been alive. Some people were devout believers of Fate but not Buck. Buck thought there was nothing to thinking a Soulmate and Fate would make you happy. Then, he met his Soulmate.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 16
Kudos: 389
Collections: Buck and Eddie are Soulmates





	Fated

**Author's Note:**

> I love the Soulmate trope a lot so I couldn't help but write it for this pairing. Enjoy.

What everyone discovered pretty early on was that Fate was a thing. A real thing that loved to play games and that acted in unexplained ways. They also discovered that things were never ever straight forward or had happy endings. Some did, but not all. Fate just was...everyone was Fated somehow. Even when they didn’t want to be. Most importantly, everyone had Soulmates. 

Scholars liked to say that when life was simpler and the world was less populated that things worked out easier or faster or maybe without all the complications. They thought that it was human invention and human progress that made Fate’s work a little harder. 

Most people thought that it was all bullshit anyway. 

It was the devout believers in Fate that made it their mission to talk about the importance of allowing Fate to lead the way. They thought that any action or inaction had to feel right and that some sort of intrinsic thing would give insight into right or wrong decisions. They didn’t marry anyone that wasn’t their Soulmate or worse have sex with anyone that wasn’t their Soulmate. They thought that bad things happened to those people that thought to tempt Fate that way — to laugh at what was Fated To Be. 

Evan “Buck” Buckley landed strictly on the camp that thought the whole thing was idiotic. The Soulmate thing even more so. He thought it was kind of like those stories that people liked to tell little kids to scare them into not doing something. A way to control how people acted and what they did. Deep down he sort of thought that there was something to it, but it was stupid to put so much stock into something so unexplained and uncontrollable. 

His mother was one of those people that believed. She believed it so much that she didn’t care that her Soulmate was an alcoholic with anger problems. His father was the verbally abusive kind because how you looked to other people mattered enough that he would never lift a hand against his wife or his kids. Instead, he yelled or belittled or bullied and then he drank and drank and drank. 

With him and his sister, their father was just avoidant. He didn’t care enough to bother with them. That was his wife’s job and she was so broken from her marriage that it didn’t make her much of a mother. That they were Soulmates did nothing to make the marriage work but they put on a good show for their friends and all the rest of the society people that they threw lavish parties for. Buck wondered if his father even believed in the whole Soulmate thing or if he used it as a status thing to be able to claim that he was one of the Mated ones — one of the lucky enough to find their other half. 

So it was pretty early on that Buck decided he wasn’t going to look for his Soulmate. Not if it meant that someone other than himself had decided who he was going to love and who he was going to spend his life with. His sister Maddie actually seemed to agree with him and when she met Doug — a man that shared their views — Buck wasn’t surprised when Maddie insisted that she was in love and that she and Doug would make it despite not being Soulmates. Buck ignored the weird not-right feeling he got when he first met Doug. He figured it was because Maddie and Doug weren’t Soulmates. 

“We don’t care about that, Buck. He loves me and I love him,” she insisted. 

Buck wanted her to be happy. He didn’t know if Doug would make her happy, but his sister was stubborn and since she insisted, he figured she had to know her own feelings. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for non-Soulmates to marry. The world was too big for everyone to find their Soulmates and there wasn’t even a true guarantee that the Soulmate you met was meant to be romantic. It was no surprise to either Buckley sibling that Eileen Buckley didn’t approve of the relationship and so when Maddie took off with Doug, leaving Buck behind, Buck didn’t even blame her. 

Buck didn’t realize how much he’d relied on his sister until she was gone and when she wasn’t answering his texts or returning his calls for days. He got to hear about her wedding through social media, wasn’t even invited. But then, Buck knew why. It was because of their parents and because as their mother put it, “Madeline was running away from Fate.” Their mother was also sure it would catch up to her one day. 

It was Eileen’s belief that Maddie’s decision would lead her to her Soulmate that made it so Eileen didn’t insist on trying to find her daughter even though she had the resources. She had to be aware that Buck was still in contact even if minimal and yet Eileen let Maddie and Doug be. 

“But you won’t do that, will you, Evan? You’ll look for your Soulmate,” she would say and look at him with such care that Buck would forget for a moment that she’d never been much of a mother. 

Buck never tried to talk to her about any of it because he knew where she stood and it wasn’t worth arguing. On a night when Richard Buckley got particularly angry and drunk, Buck even tried to shield his mother from it but she pushed him aside and tried to go help her husband because that’s what she needed and wanted to do. He even struck her that night, a slap on the face that left bruises for her to cover up for the next few weeks and yet none of it seemed to matter to Eileen as much as sticking by his side. After that night, Buck swore to leave as soon as he possibly could even if he had to leave his mother behind. 

A few years spent as a vagabond and then an attempt at becoming a Navy Seal and Evan found himself in California with no idea what came next. 

He was considering going to school and getting a degree in something or other when he found himself at a booth with recruitment for the fire academy. Evan didn’t want to say that it was Fate...that he’d been in the right place at the right time but the choice felt right. 

When he finally became a firefighter and he joined the 118, that was the first time that Buck felt like he was where he belonged and with the people that he belonged with. He didn’t want to call it Fate even though he knew that’s what it was. What didn’t help was that everyone at the 118 seemed to be a believer. Well, a believer to a certain degree. 

The Captain, Bobby Nash, was a bit jaded about the whole Fate and Soulmate thing even if no one knew quite why. He never seemed to talk about it. It would be months before Buck found out his backstory. His lost Soulmate — his lost family. Anyone would be jaded about Soulmates after the tragedy he’d gone through. 

Hen had never believed until she met her Soulmate Karen. But she claimed that it was when she met her son Denny that it sealed it for her. Denny was adopted and both Hen and Karen had known that he was their son from the moment they laid their eyes on him. He was Fated to be theirs. 

Chimney was a bit more relaxed with the idea. He wasn’t actively looking for his Soulmate but he wasn’t not looking either. He believed, even if it was casual belief that didn’t judge anyone who didn’t. 

Buck mostly just wanted to get off with someone, if he were honest. He wanted the physical connection. He didn’t think he wanted to meet anyone that might be his Soulmate and he was glad that no one he met for thrysts ever felt like they could be more than just a bit of fun. That’s what he preferred anyway. It was only sometimes, when he returned to his rented room all alone that he wondered if maybe he did want something more — someone that meant more. 

Bobby, Hen, and Chim were the closest that Buck had ever come to feeling what everyone seemed to describe as belonging. He belonged with them and it seemed that the feeling went both ways. They were as close to finding platonic Soulmates as he had come.

Buck would never claim that Abby had ever felt entirely right, but that wasn’t why he was with her. Abby was different than most people that Buck met and that may very well have had something to do with her age, but he did like spending time with her. He liked that she saw things his way especially since the whole Soulmate thing had burned her too. Abby never fully explained it but he got the gist that her last boyfriend was her Soulmate and that he left her the moment things with her mom got hard. Soulmates really weren’t all they were cracked up to be. 

When Abby left, Buck understood. The death of her mother was a blow and she felt like she needed to go find herself or something. What hurt was when she told him that leaving felt right and worse when he could see it with every picture she sent or even just the ones that she didn’t send but that she posted on her Instagram. 

“It’s not like she was your Soulmate, Buckaroo,” Hen said. “And I know you don’t believe in this stuff but there is absolutely something to it. I think you were meant to meet her and be with her but it just means that you’re ready for something else now.” 

The worst thing about it was knowing that Hen had a point. Before Abby, Buck hadn’t wanted the whole relationship thing. He hadn’t been interested in the domesticity of it all but meeting Abby had meant that he wanted to try the whole relationship thing. He’d enjoyed being there for Abby and having someone that he could call and that he relax with when work and everything that came with it was just a little too much. It didn’t mean he wanted a Soulmate, though. 

“Maybe she helped make you into the person you need to be when you meet your Soulmate,” Hen said. 

Buck didn’t even try to argue because he knew there wasn’t winning that one. 

Then, Eddie Diaz joined the 118. The first time Buck saw him, he knew. 

The thing about Soulmates was that it wasn’t as simple as two people seeing each other. There was really nothing to outwardly declare that a Soulmate had been found. It was all more internal — you were supposed to just know. Fate would let you know. Sometimes for some people it happened right away but other times it took a bit longer. Weeks or months or even years could go by before two people realized that they were Soulmates and people always said that it was all down to what Fate intended. Platonic Soulmates were always a possibility when someone noticed a Soulmate right away but that wasn’t what hit him when he saw Eddie Diaz for the first time. 

No, what he felt was attraction and a pull towards him that was like nothing else. Buck wanted to know him. He wanted to talk to him. He wanted Eddie in his life. And he absolutely hated it — he hated the way that he could barely tear his gaze away from where Eddie was putting on a shirt — and of course he was shirtless the first time he saw him, as if Buck needed to know about his perfect abs so soon after seeing him. Buck didn’t need a Soulmate. He didn’t need anyone — he had Abby and Abby would be coming back eventually. So, Buck didn’t go meet the new guy with Hen and Chim and if Bobby gave him a disapproving look over it, he didn’t care. 

When he finally did meet Eddie, it was after he had already decided to not like him so if he was a little antagonistic then no one could blame him. It didn’t help that everyone else seemed taken by Eddie and that Eddie didn’t have that new guy feel — he was confident in what he was doing and he wasn’t afraid to jump in even when he had to know that the rest of them were more seasoned at the job. It sort of rubbed Buck the wrong way but only because he let it. He wanted to dislike him. Needed to dislike him. 

The only good thing was that Eddie didn’t show any recognition for Buck being his Soulmate. It made it easier. 

Hen and Chim had already proclaimed that Eddie was a beautiful man and Buck couldn’t ignore that. He had eyes and Eddie was perfect. His fluffy hair and his dark eyes and a body that was nothing to scoff at. Buck hated how perfect he was. He was supposed to be perfect for Buck...at least that’s what Fate intended and Buck hated admitting even to just himself how Eddie seemed to be exactly the type of guy that he would go for. 

“What’s up with you?” Hen asked.

“Nothing. I’m fine,” he grunted. 

“He feels right here, you know. I could tell the moment I met him. He’s meant to be here.”

Buck grunted again. 

“I don’t get why you’re so against the Fate thing, Buck. Explain it to me?”

“I think it can majorly screw up your life,” Buck said. “People do stupid things because they think it will get them their Soulmates or closer to meeting them. They rely on it like it’s the thing that will make them happy. It’s all bullshit. Soulmates. Fate. It’s not what makes anyone happy.”

Hen didn’t reply to that right away. “People are stupid no matter what. And Fate isn’t this predetermined thing. It’s possibilities. It’s outcomes to your choices and the people that might fit into those choices. I don’t think anyone has one single Soulmate but our choices lead us to one of them.”

Buck shrugged at her. 

Buck was determined to hate Eddie right up until they were in the ambulance with a bomb and they were working together to get the bomb out of an actual person. But after they had made it off the rig and the patient was being rolled away, Buck couldn’t keep up the dislike not when Eddie impressed him and when Eddie seemed to be trying his hardest to get on Buck’s good side. Definitely not when there was nothing that Buck could hold against him other than the fact that he was his Soulmate and that was one thing that Buck wasn’t ready to admit. He didn’t think he’d ever be ready to admit to that. 

It was a few days later that Buck knew he was truly screwed. Eddie showed him a picture of his son and even though it was a picture, Buck could feel a pull. He wanted to know that little boy. Eddie’s little boy. 

Watching Eddie hug Christopher later in the day — after such a long day — made Buck feel like maybe he was wrong and maybe he did need Eddie and Christopher in his life. Everything felt like it was changing and when Christopher was finally in front of him, Buck felt that feeling of rightness. Eddie seemed none the wiser but Christopher tilted his head a little when he looked at Buck and Buck had to wonder how much the boy felt — if he knew or cared about Fate. Kids mostly followed the lead of their parents but there was instinct involved too and from the way that Christopher didn’t shy away from Buck, Buck had to assume that Christopher felt some of it. 

Still, Buck wasn’t entirely sold on it. The more time he spent with Eddie, the clearer it became that he was definitely Buck’s Soulmate. Buck even felt itchy sometimes right on his chest over his heart — the secondary sign of a Romantic Soulmate. No mark appeared, but it would if the whole thing was ever acknowledged and reciprocated. But that was the problem...Eddie didn’t feel it or he was just better at ignoring it than Buck was. Buck didn’t know what it was that Eddie felt and some days it drove him crazy to think that he was the only one dealing with it especially since that seemed likelier. 

“I’m glad you warmed up to him,” Bobby told him a few weeks after Eddie had joined the team. “I knew he’d be good for you.” 

“Well, who knew you and Athena would end up together,” Buck said. 

Bobby laughed. The whole thing was still a bit confusing to Buck because Bobby had had a Soulmate and then she died and Fate led Bobby to California and to the 118 — at least, that’s how Bobby saw it. Athena’s husband was her Soulmate but apparently it wasn’t a romantic bond. Neither Athena or Bobby had ever felt any pull towards a Soulmate bond in the years they’d known each other but they both admitted freely that they’d always felt right around each other. The Soulmate thing had sneaked up on them one day. They had looked at each other and they had both known in that moment that they were Soulmates. 

“Fate did, Buck,” Bobby said. “We weren’t ready for each other until we were.”

“Right,” Buck said and his talk with Bobby almost convinced him that things would be alright and that all his worries and conflicting thoughts about Eddie were nothing to worry over. 

Then, Eddie’s wife showed up. It was right before Christmas and Buck got hit by a wave of wrong the first time he saw her walk up to Eddie in the middle of a toy collection drive. She sauntered up and Eddie seemed to tense up when he saw her. 

It was a few days later that Eddie filled him in while they waited for Christopher to go see Santa at the mall. 

“She wasn’t my Soulmate,” Eddie said. “We met and I liked her. It didn’t feel wrong not like everyone says that a non Soulmate does. Maybe Fate knew she would get me Christopher. But we got married anyway when we found out she was pregnant. It felt like the right thing to do. I have to tell you,Buck, I never thought much about it. This whole Fate and Soulmates thing.”

“Me either,” Buck said. 

Eddie nodded. “Yeah...Hen said that. My Abuela always said that everything we go through is supposed to lead us to where we need to be and who we are meant to be with.”

Buck shrugged. “It comes with a lot of suffering if it does. So, what are you going to do?”

Buck didn’t want to be invested. He didn’t want to think that it mattered or admit that one of the reasons he’d finally moved out of Abby’s place was Eddie and his friendship. He was Buck’s Soulmate even if he didn’t know it and Buck had had enough time with it to have it let be a thing that he didn’t think about all the time. 

“I don’t know,” Eddie said. “She’s his mom. But she left us and I can’t trust that she won’t hurt him like that again. What if she finds her Soulmate? What then? I think she’ll run again and Christopher doesn’t deserve that.”

“And what if you find yours?” Buck asked before he could stop himself. 

Eddie shook his head and laughed. “Not going to happen. I’m not exactly looking or care if I find them. Christopher is all I need.”

It didn’t hurt. Well, it did, sort of. But it shouldn’t have because Buck didn’t want a Soulmate. He was happy with Eddie as a coworker and friend and that’s all that they would ever need to be. And either way, Buck had started dating again because he still didn’t believe that Fate or Soulmates mattered. Ali was great. She travelled for work a lot so Buck didn’t see her often but he felt good when he was with her. She was good and even though they’d never talked about the Soulmate thing, Buck figured that she probably didn’t put any stock in it since she was the one that had reached out to him in the first place. 

In the midst of all that, the last thing that Buck expected was for Eddie and Shannon to get back together. He knew that Eddie decided to let her back into Christopher’s life, but Eddie had been so torn about letting Shannon back into his life that Buck hadn’t realized the two things were mutually exclusive. And the bond...the Soulmate thing that Buck didn’t want to believe in made it all the worse. It hurt. 

It physically hurt and at first Buck thought it was something else — that something was wrong with him. It started like a weird pang that turned into heartburn and it all started when Eddie told him that he and Shannon were going to try being together again. It took Buck a few days to realize that it got worse the closer to Eddie he was. 

Buck didn’t know what it meant and his online research into it gave him nothing. Buck even tried to look at books devoted to the subject of Soulmates but he had nothing. So, Buck tried to stay away. It was hard when they worked together almost every day and when he wanted to be near Eddie all the time. It was two desperate needs fighting against each other and it was exhausting. He felt more tired than ever. 

“You okay, Buck?” Chim asked him one afternoon after Buck had made himself scarce the entire day. 

“Fine,” Buck said. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Chimney nodded. Buck felt a bit weird around Chim, if he were honest. He was Maddie’s Soulmate apparently. The two of them hadn’t known immediately but over Christmas day — a day they’d spent together — they had both realized that the pull they had to each other was due to them being Soulmates and not just some other weird Fate thing. More importantly, Maddie was thrilled. Buck figured that it was to due to how everything with Doug had ended. It was still strange for him to think about Maddie happy to have found her Soulmate when she’d always been so against the idea. Maddie had always been more against it than Buck and at no point since returning into Buck’s life had she even expressed any interest in finding her Soulmate. Some people liked to say that you had to be open to the idea of finding your Soulmate for it to happen. Buck had no idea how true that was, but if it was then, he was surprised that Maddie had been ready for hers. But then, it was Chim and Buck liked Chim. His sister deserved someone as decent and good as Chim. 

“Is it to do with Eddie?” Chimney asked. 

Buck sighed. He really didn’t want to talk about it. “No.”

“Well, Hen and I noticed that you’re kind of not spending every minute of your shift with him. So, did something happen? You guys have a fight?”

“No,” Buck said. 

Later, when they were having dinner, he made a point of sitting next to Eddie and asking about Christopher no matter how much it made his stomach churn or his chest ache. When Eddie touched his arm to get him to pass him the bowl of salad, his touch burned and Buck tried to not react to it. 

“It’s really great having Shannon around,” Eddie was saying to Hen. “Makes it so much easier with Christopher and he loves having her back. I didn’t realize he’d missed her so much.”

“She is his mom,” Buck said. 

Buck didn’t know if anyone noticed how little he ate before a call came and they were all rushing to go. 

Over the next few weeks, Buck got used to feeling a bit odd around Eddie but he tried to act like things were normal. Granted, his job was never quite normal. And then, he was crushed by a ladder truck. And that...if that was what was Fated to happen then Buck wouldn’t have been surprised because so far things hadn’t exactly gone his way so why wouldn’t he also be crushed by a ladder truck.

When he woke up, he felt different. He’d felt different when he was being loaded up into the ambulance, sure, but that had also been masked by pain and by all the confusion and shock of what had just happened to him. But when he woke up, he knew something was different. Something felt right and for the moment during which he was looking at his leg a little far gone on the meds, Buck even considered that somehow Fate thought his leg being crushed by a fire truck was something that needed to happen. 

But as the minutes ticked by, Buck realized that it wasn’t to do with his leg at all. It was the empty feeling inside his chest...it was gone. Despite his injury he felt better than he’d ever felt and that couldn’t have changed not unless…

Buck glanced around the room. An empty chair sat at his right side so someone had been sitting with him but they weren’t anymore and Buck could only imagine that it had been Maddie or maybe Bobby. Maybe someone had called Ali. 

When the door opened, he didn’t expect Eddie to step in holding coffee and looking more frazzled than Buck had ever seen him before. He looked like he had the day Shannon died — shocked and a little lost. 

Buck would never forget that day. He’d felt like he was going to be sick. Like at any moment, he was going to have to rush into a bathroom and sick up. He’d been fatigued and pained and he was lucky that after the call where they found Shannon that they remained at the hospital waiting for Eddie because Buck had no idea if he would have been able to be far away and much less actually work. He had no idea how no one had noticed or asked why he was so pale or why he looked nauseous.

The thing about it was that Buck had never hated Shannon. She was Christopher’s mother and Buck loved that kid. He understood why Eddie was sticking by her. She was the mother of his child and maybe that meant more than any Soulmate business could. Still, when he saw her on the asphalt and once it became clear that she wasn’t going to make it, Buck had expected to feel some relief...not because of his feelings for Eddie but just due to the Soulmate bond. It was the opposite of that. 

It wasn’t until much later when he was home and researching that he knew it was Eddie’s pain that he felt. His emotions were so big that even though their bond was one sided, Buck still felt them transfer over. In the days and weeks that followed her death the pain died down but none of the other stuff went away and Buck felt empty and at some level of pain always. It didn’t change until after waking up from being crushed by the firetruck. 

At first he thought it was the meds, but his mind caught up to him and let him know it couldn’t be which meant that something else happened and there were only a few things that could have happened. 

“You’re awake,” Eddie said. “I guess I should have stuck around but they told us you wouldn’t wake up for a few more hours. Always got to be stubborn, don’t you, Buck?”

Buck didn’t even know what to say. Instead he watched Eddie. 

Eddie never ceased to be beautiful and as distraught as he’d seemed to Buck at first, he seemed fine. He sat down in the chair next to Buck’s hospital bed. 

“You should have told me,” Eddie said. 

“Told you?”

Eddie fixed him with a look. He knew. Eddie knew.

“Neither of us believes in that stuff,” Buck said and then gulped and looked away from Eddie to his leg. “What did the doctors say?”

“You’ll walk again,” Eddie said. “The surgery went well.”

“But what about—”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “One thing at a time, Buck. They don’t know what your recovery will be like. But they’re hopeful especially since you have a Soulmate.” 

“We’re not—”

“We are,” Eddie said and he grabbed Buck’s hand as if to reassure him. “And if we complete the bond, it will help you heal.”

So, that’s what it was all about. Eddie had figured it out somehow — something to do with the accident — and because he was Eddie he wanted to help even if it meant tying himself to Buck forever when Buck knew that the last thing that Eddie wanted or needed was a Soulmate. 

Buck shook his head. “No, you don’t—”

At that moment Maddie and Carla walked in followed closely by Ali. Eddie let go of his hand as if he had been burned and Buck couldn’t be sure that none of the women had seen or not but none of them reacted. It meant that Eddie hadn’t told anyone. Maybe the doctors had been able to tell, but no one else knew. 

Ali walked around to the other side of the bed and she bent down to hug him. Carla just pat his good foot and Maddie wiped a tear. 

“God damn it, Buck,” Maddie said. 

“Hey, it’s not like I planned this,” he said but Maddie just shook her head. 

He didn’t get a moment alone with Eddie again until he was out of the hospital. Between Maddie, Ali, Carla, Hen, Chim, Bobby, and Athena there was just no moment when he wasn’t with someone other than Eddie. And then the one time that the others weren’t there, Eddie had brought Christopher with him.

Seeing Christopher made everything better. That kid was a bright ray of sunshine and even though Buck hadn’t gotten to spend too much time with him, he knew he loved that kid already. 

When Buck was finally discharged, Ali was the one to pick him up from the hospital and the whole thing felt odd. Not necessarily bad or good...just odd. Ali must have felt it too because it was she that ended it. She didn’t like that he was in danger all the time and that Buck had no plans to change careers. Then of course it was the feeling of wrong that hung over them. They were at an end. 

The first time he saw Eddie again when he was home and recuperating was on a Tuesday. It was actually gloomy out for LA which made Buck feel just a little better about being stuck inside for what was likely to be weeks. It was a hassle to bother with leaving the house unless he actually needed to because of the hassle of the cast on his foot. 

Hobbling over to open the door when Eddie knocked was kind of a pain, but he felt so much better when he laid eyes on him. 

“Hi,” Buck said. 

“Where are your crutches?”

Buck rolled his eyes. “I’m home. I can move around without them.”

Eddie stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his waist. With the other hand he closed the door. 

And Buck...in that moment he lost all sense of self. He could smell Eddie and feel his warmth. His hand was right over his ribs and it felt so right. Everywhere they were touching it was like there was a spark and when he leaned even closer into Eddie, Eddie’s arm tightened. 

“Come on, couch or table?”

“Huh?”

Eddie chuckled. “Well, have you eaten?”

Buck shook his head. 

“Okay. Then I’m making you food. Glad I went shopping before coming here.” 

Buck hadn’t even noticed the bags that Eddie had left by the door. Eddie went to fetch them after he’d helped Buck sit and Buck missed him at his side the moment that he left him. The whole Soulmate thing was weird and yet Buck was sure that that it wouldn’t have mattered between them because it was more than that. It was their friendship and who the two of them were. Buck would have been drawn to Eddie no matter what. 

“Can you even cook, Eddie?” 

“I’m not as hopeless as you,” Eddie said. “I have an eight year old.”

“Hey, Bobby’s been teaching me plenty,” Buck said.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “When you’re better, I’ll be the judge of that.” 

Eddie moved around his kitchen with ease, asking only a few times where he could find something but for the most part seemingly to already know where it might be. 

Eddie made a ravioli lasagna. He prepared it in fifteen minutes and had it in Buck’s oven a few moments later. Then, he made a salad and once that was ready, Eddie started cleaning up the kitchen including Buck’s dirty dishes from earlier in the day and nothing Buck said could stop him. 

By the time the kitchen was clean and everything Eddie had bought had been put away while Buck could only sit and watch, the oven timer went off. It smelled good. Delicious even. 

“Fine, so you can cook,” Buck said once he’d actually tried a bite of it. 

Eddie smiled at him, but it was the bashful kind of smile where he couldn’t meet Buck’s eyes and he focused more on eating. They were going to have to talk about it. That was the ultimate problem. Buck had never shied away from hard conversations, but this was different. It was Fate and Soulmates — something that Buck had never truly believed in — and it was a conversation that Buck had never wanted to have or maybe had never expected to have. 

Eddie nudged his shoulder. “Eat,” he said. 

Buck tucked in. It was nice to have a home cooked meal for a change. The last few days had been a lot of take out. Even when Maddie came over, she’d picked up Thai. He ate everything on his plate and when Eddie put more, he ate that too. 

“Let me clean up and then we can...well, we can talk,” Eddie said. 

Buck nodded and tried not to worry too much about it. It was just that he had no idea how it was going to go and that aspect of it...the not knowing was scary. It was the worst part about it — worse than even his injury if that were possible. He tried to focus on Eddie and how Eddie made him feel. Whole. It was a cliche and Buck hated it, but that’s what it was. He made Buck complete. This was Fate...the thing that had never once made sense to Buck and that felt like the one thing taking away his autonomy and yet if it was Eddie that it led to then it was possible that there was something to it. 

“You’re thinking an awful lot there, Buck,” Eddie said and his fingers touched Buck’s forehead, as if to get rid of the frown lines. Eddie’s touch was electric. 

“Lot’s to consider,” Buck said as Eddie’s hand lowered from his face. 

“Come on, you’ve been sitting there too long. Probably can’t be that comfortable.” 

“Uh, I’ll have you know that I picked very comfortable chairs,” Buck said. 

“Yes, but you’re injured, Buck,” Eddie said. “You need to prop up that leg. You know that. Come on. Lean on me.”

Eddie helped Buck off the chair and wrapped an arm around his back and together they made it to the sofa where Buck was going to be spending a lot of his time for the foreseeable future. Eddie helped him sit and then helped him prop his leg up on the coffee table. Had Buck wanted to run or get away from this conversation, Eddie was making it impossible and that maybe gave Buck some insight into how he was feeling which made him feel a little bit better. Only just. 

Eddie busied himself fluffing up Buck’s pillows and propping them up on his back. 

“Comfortable?” Eddie asked. “Do you need another pillow? Oh...have you taken your meds? Are you—”

Buck reached over and grabbed Eddie’s wrist. “You know, I’m beginning to wonder how Christopher has gotten you to stop doing everything for him. I’m okay, Eddie. Now, there’s something we’ve been putting off. For a while on my part, I’ll admit.” He tried to smile a shaky smile and he heard Eddie inhale. 

“Buck,” he said and he sounded so raw and when their eyes met it felt odd. Not odd strange, but unconfitting perhaps because they both seemed to be thinking the same thing. They both wanted this. And Buck...he was going to have to be the brave one. 

Buck took a deep breath. “Eddie, I love you.”

Eddie didn’t seem to know what to say. He just stared at Buck. 

“That’s the truth,” Buck said. “I think I’ve loved you for longer than I know. That I knew you were my Soulmate the moment I saw you for the first time and that for months I’ve been sure that friendship would be the most I’d get. It was going to be enough even if I never felt whole again.”

Eddie stared at him. Buck could tell just looking at him that he was mildly upset. 

“Eddie—”

“You could have said something,” Eddie said, it was just louder than a whisper. “God, Buck, I’ve been feeling off for a while but I thought it was Shannon and all that whole mess. But, you...all this time.” Eddie laughed and he rubbed a hand against his chest. 

The next thing Buck knew, Eddie had moved ever closer and he was just looking at Buck, taking him in. 

“I told you I don’t believe in this stuff, Buck,” Eddie said. “Probably why I ended up with Shannon or why I didn’t even notice this.” Eddie motioned between them. 

“Eddie, if you—”

“No, Buck, you don’t get it. I’ve been struggling with my feelings for you for so long and Chim kept telling me about the things you used to do...and Abby and then Ali but I had my own things too. Shannon. Christopher. I thought it wasn’t an option...that it could never be an option. And then you were hurt and I knew why I was drawn to you and why most days I was happier when I got to see you. Buck, you’re my best friend and apparently my Soulmate.” He looked a little lost, eyes blown wide and like he couldn’t believe that he’d said so much. Then, Eddie took a deep breath and he seemed to steel himself. “I love you, too. Have for a while, I think.”

He could feel it. He could feel the love and the truth in everything Eddie said. 

Emotions weren’t shared between Soulmates, not unless they were really big or they were a part of bonding...and that wasn’t what Buck was experiencing. It was more to do with instinct and how absolutely right it all felt. He loved Eddie. Eddie loved him. And Eddie was right in front of him, close enough to touch and Buck didn’t know why he hadn’t touched him yet. So, he leaned forward and took his face in his hands. 

Eddie inhaled and his lips twitched into a smile. 

Buck moved first, surging forward, but Eddie met him in the middle and when their lips connected, it was magic. It felt like the most important thing to ever happen and Buck couldn’t really think. All he could do is feel. He felt the heat of Eddie’s hand on his arm and the soft sweeping of Eddie’s lips on his, how strong Eddie’s jaw felt under his fingers. When they needed air and Eddie pulled back, it was only just so far away that their breaths mingled, but Eddie pressed their foreheads together and Buck brushed a finger over Eddie’s lips. He loved this man. 

“Buck,” Eddie whispered.

“Yeah?”

“I’m so glad it’s you.”

“Me too,” Buck said and it was true. 

Buck didn’t think he would ever fully believe in Fate, but he and Eddie belonged together. When Eddie kissed him again, Buck melted into it. He pulled Eddie ever closer. The rest of the night was intersped with kissing and the two of them pressed close together on Buck’s couch. Time passed but neither noticed until Eddie’s phone was ringing and it was Carla wondering where Eddie was. 

“I...I have to go.”

“Go,” Buck said. “I’ll be here.”

Eddie kissed him once more, a chaste kiss cut too short. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

The next day brought Eddie and Christopher and because Eddie didn’t want him hobbling around the apartment more than was necessary, Eddie had even made a point of taking Buck’s keys.

Christopher was the first to reach Buck on the couch.

“Ah, I see I get a special visitor today,” Buck said. 

“It’s just me,” Christopher said as he sat down next to Buck. 

“I know,” Buck said. “How about you pick what we watch.” He handed the remote over. 

Christopher took it without hesitating, but he didn’t use it at once. Intead, he stared at Buck for a long moment. “My daddy says that you’re his Soulmate,” Christopher said at last.

“I am,” Buck said. “Is that okay?”

Christopher nodded. “I guess so.”

“You guess so?”

“It’s okay. You’re not going to take my daddy away, are you?” That Christopher whispered, his words rushed out together some but Buck understood him perfectly. 

“Wanna know a secret, kiddo?” Buck asked. 

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure you and your dad are a package deal. I would never take him away from you. Me and you, we can share him.”

Christopher nodded eagerly and Buck ruffled his hair. He thought back to the first time he was even aware of Christopher and how much he’d wanted to know the little boy. 

“You two getting along alright?” Eddie asked. He carried a couple of pizza boxes. 

“Of course we are,” Buck said. 

“I like your Soulmate, daddy,” Christopher said.

“You know what, kid, I think I like him too,” Eddie said. 

It wasn’t ever going to be simple or easy but they were in it together. They belonged together. He and Eddie and Christopher too. It didn’t matter that it was Fate, for once Buck didn’t care that what he wanted aligned perfectly with that.

**Author's Note:**

> Couple of notes: 
> 
> Because Chim and Maddie are Soulmates - Chim gets a bad feeling when he meets Doug enough so that they don't become friends and that along with them being together since Christmas makes it so that Doug doesn't take Maddie but maybe he does confront her in some other way. 
> 
> Due to the Soulmate thing, Buck does end up healing faster and he returns to work without any issues. He might even return before the tsunami happens. 
> 
> Hope everyone liked it. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.
> 
> Like/Reblog it on [tumblr](https://inawickedlittletown.tumblr.com/post/189882369187/fated-buddie-soulmate-au)


End file.
